Father Rinaldi's Foundation of 1856

The plaque calls it a basilica, and the walls never rose. Father Raphael Rinaldi, Shasta's priest from 1855, planned a church of cut stone to replace the small wooden one of 1853, and Archbishop Joseph Alemany laid the cornerstone in May 1857. Then the work stopped. The state's own register says only that for some reason the walls were never built, and dates the foundation 1856 in its title while the bronze says 1857. The footing is still in the ground, a church's outline with nothing on it.

What the plaque says

Registered State Historical Landmark No. 483 Foundation of Catholic Basilica Cornerstone laid on May 1857 by Archbishop Joseph Alemany O.P. Rev. Raphael Rinaldi, Pastor

Where it stands

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